In celebration of the month of March, Bank of Palestine launched a massive campaign for Palestinian women entitled “We Celebrate March in a Special Way.” Stemming from its belief in the importance of integrated action and supporting women to practice their right to work and productivity, the campaign aims to appreciate Palestinian women and encourage them to promote their contribution in society building and economic development.
The campaign incorporates a series of credit facilitations and savings awards for women who have savings accounts and Ana O Shatarti accounts. Credit facilitations involve granting a total of 30 interest and commission-free loans during the month of March for women who wish to establish small projects or develop existing ones. The prizes on savings will involve a draw on two prizes in the amount of $5,000 each, whereby this draw is separate from the daily savings draw and only involves women savers. The first draw was implemented on the occasions of the International Women’s Day on 8 March, while the second draw will be implemented on the occasion of Mothers’ Day on 21 March, whereby all women who have savings accounts and Ana O Shatarti accounts with a minimum of $200 are eligible to participate.
The loans will be granted to the first 30 women who approach the bank and apply for loans (maximum amount of $25,000) to establish or develop their own micro, small and medium size projects during the month of March. The winners will be announced on Bank of Palestine’s Facebook page and website.
Mr. Rushdi Ghalayini, the General Director of Bank of Palestine, stressed that the campaign forms part of the efforts conducted by the bank in appreciation of Palestinian women who are brave and resilient. It is also a continuation of efforts conducted by the bank to promote the role of women through the Felestineya program, which includes a strategy for empowering women within society by providing them banking services that respond to their needs, in addition to training programs and non-financial consulting services.
Ghalayini added that last year, the Felestineya program managed to reach 4,000 women beneficiaries and raise their banking awareness, and the bank also launched the Mini MBA program to improve the capacity of women and allow them to develop their own work mechanisms, products and services. Ghalayini also stated that the bank designed a facilitations program especially for women to enable them to obtain security-free loans for establishing their projects, as well as an interest and commission-free facilitations program for women with disabilities, in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor, to enable women to establish their own small projects and achieve economic independence.